"Live in such a way that it demands an explanation"

I find myself falling more and more in love with Christ everyday. Last night my roommate and I went to sleep laughing like crazy. We were just talking and joking around and I had her rolling. We went to sleep with such joy. When we woke up we were smiling and joyful. What an awesome way to wake up. I find myself reading the word more and praying more and more. The freedom that we have in Christ is so beautiful. The bondage of sin is so thick and heavy. It promises freedom, freedom to do what we want, to fulfill sinful desires. This promise of freedom is only the promise to be free to die. When we shed those bonds and break them there is a freedom beyond comparison and a peace so deep and a joy that wells up from deep within and overflows. I can't help but preach Christ with my life right now. Everyone I talk to, everything I do... Christ comes out somehow. What is in your heart will come to the surface. You can't help it. Preach with your life. Actions preach. In order to have those action and preach with your life it has to start in your quiet place. It has to start with that intimate relationship. How beautiful it is to be FREE!

laughing in the middle of a crap storm...

Oh boy... There has been a lot going on, but I find myself laughing now more than ever. It really is strange how my family deals with things. We use humor so much, we find ourselves laughing more than crying. We have our moments, don't get me wrong. My dad left for India on Sunday and will be gone for like 3 weeks. My mom and sibs are having a hard time with it even before dad left. During our good-byes they were filled with laughs and smiles and jokes. I left the following morning to come back to school for a meeting. My mom calls during my meeting and tells me as calmly as I have ever heard her talk, "I just want you to know, I'm going to the E.R." WHAT?! She had cut her thumb is a new pair of scissors and it was bad. She called me after her visit to the E.R. to tell me she has to meet with a surgeon because she sliced through her tendon. We laughed the whole time, everytime she calls or I call her. We laugh and make jokes. I wonder if our enemy is like, "What in the world. Everything is going wrong for them and they are joyous!? This isn't right!" I think some would say, well, you are using humor to not deal with things. I would say not true. I look at something and I act wisely or I try to, but in the end, is it worth stressing over. It's just another thing and soon there will be something else. It is better just to focus on the many blessings we have that always out weigh the bad things. My mom still has her thumb and she is currently giving everyone a thumbs up. Just amazing the unending joy and peace that comes from the Lord.

Wisdom.... Get some!

"He who walks with the wise grows wise,
a companion of fools suffers harm."
-Proverbs 13:20

Yesterday was crazy! I could make a long list of things that went wrong yesterday from financial surprises to a bloody nose that wouldn't stop in a basketball game last night, but I won't. The main thing is I learned something out of yesterday. It is a basic truth we hear all the time, but I actually felt it, lived it yesterday. Although life all around us is crazy and things are happening constantly, God is always constant and consistent. Well, duh, right?! I clung to the scripture of do not worry yesterday and was constantly repeating it in my head. Money issues? Do not worry, you have your daily bread. Got popped in the face by another girl in the game? Do not worry, it will heal up and you have a good story to tell. But I don't know what I would do without those wise people and wise mentors in my life to come alongside me, to stretch and grow me. I want to walk with the wise everyday; take advantage of them being in my life. I want to walk with the wise so I can grow wise!

Thank you poppa...
That's all I have to say today, Thank you.

today i was in my advisor's office talking with him about spiritual warfare and we were discussing a book. he then told me a freaky story that happened not far from here. i told him that is nothing new to me and i have tons of stories about that stuff and my dad has even better ones. i began to list just a few things that my dad has told me and he was amazed. he asked me if dad was a believer and i of course said YES! he then asked me if he has worked through all the spiritual warfare or spiritual conflict and asked me just about him. i told him he is a strong mature christian and is very wise and that in two weeks he will be embarking on a mission trip to India. Rob then raised his eyebrows and said something that completely changed the way i look at my dad, "wow... must be pretty cool to have a dad like that... " it completely threw me off. i just looked back at him and said, yeah, it is and at that moment i saw my father in a whole new light. like everything i thought or felt about my dad was different. in that one split second all of the past was gone and i saw my dad for the man he is right now, today. the father who is trying so hard to build a relationship with me again and do little things like just ask how i am, which he has never done before. we have talked on the phone which has never happened in the past. so today i just realize how blessed i am... through and through...